By Olha Chepil | 2026-06-05

In the middle of Vienna's Eurovision Market, the smell of potato vareniki (dumplings) and poppyseed blini drew in tourists, diplomats and Austrian government officials alike. Within five hours, the vareniki were gone -- sold out in the first hour -- and the Ukrainian women staffing the stand had raised €2,381 for a pediatric neurophysiology center in Lviv.

It was a small moment with a long history behind it. One hundred five years after the first Ukrainian Women's Union was founded in Vienna, a new generation of Ukrainian women has revived it, running charitable fairs, mounting exhibitions, supporting soldiers and hospitals and explaining to Europeans what Ukraine actually is.

"For a few hours our stand became a place where Ukraine came alive in the middle of Vienna," said Iryna Shinklyar, a member of the Ukrainian Women's Union (UWU), told Kontur.

A century in the making

The UWU was first established in Vienna in 1920, at a time when the city was a hub of Ukrainian emigration. Ukrainians published periodicals, organized gatherings and raised funds, and women led many of those efforts. The organization's work was disrupted -- first by war, then by Soviet rule -- before a group of women decided to revive it last year.

Some of those they reached out to remembered the original.

"Some of the women who belonged to the old union are still alive. They're now between 80 and 90 years old. We contacted them and reestablished our organization," Shinklyar said.

The UWU now operates across Austria under the name Union Ukrainischer Frauen. Its more than 40 members include architects, teachers, artists and lawyers -- some who have lived in Austria for decades, others who arrived after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The organization considers itself a continuation of the Ukrainian women's diaspora in Vienna dating to the Habsburg era, not a new entity.

Among the historical figures the organization honors is Sofia Okunevska, the first female Ukrainian doctor in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who studied in Vienna and was one of the earliest public voices for women's right to education and careers. The UWU also recognizes Daria Vitoshinska, who led the Ukrainian women's movement in Austria after World War II.

Female power

Shinklyar has lived in Austria for over 30 years and holds a leadership position at an Austrian company. When the full-scale invasion began, she organized a café in a small town near Vienna for Ukrainian women who needed help with housing, food and documents. Her family also worked with military volunteers to evacuate animals from frontline zones. The UWU now partners with the United Nations, the Ukrainian Embassy and Ukraine's diplomatic delegation on charitable initiatives supporting soldiers, children and hospitals.

Oksana Chobitko arrived in Austria in 2022 with her children. In Kyiv she had taught architectural design and worked as a senior researcher at the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves on restoring architectural monuments. She is now working on a mural for the European Parliament Office in Milan, which Ukrainian and Italian children will paint together from a sketch she created.

"We have very interesting people here -- academics, artists, lawyers. There are women who held leadership positions in Ukraine. That's the core that has come together. It's female power," Chobitko told Kontur.

Correcting the record

Natalia Zalozna works frequently with foreigners and said older Europeans are often surprised to learn Ukraine's actual history. Soviet-era distortions left many in the West poorly informed about the country's depth and independence.

"A lot of information about us was distorted during Soviet times in a way that the Soviet Union needed. We now need to amplify this truth and get the word out about it," Zalozna told Kontur.

She said awareness has shifted. Europeans now clearly distinguish Ukrainian culture from that of other post-Soviet countries and understand that Ukraine is not part of Russia.

At the Eurovision Market, the women shaped vareniki late into the night before the fair. Chobitko fried blini until 4:30 a.m. The stand drew hundreds of visitors over five hours. An Austrian flower shop owner nearby gifted the women a flower arrangement as a show of support.

"People can feel it when something is done out of genuine love and as part of an important mission. That's why the atmosphere was so special," Chobitko said.

The organization holds exhibitions, lectures, charity fairs and meetings across Austria and works with the Ukrainian Embassy and international organizations. It plans to join the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations.